US: New cost-effective technology to remove heavy metals from water and wastewater

Siemens and Texas A&M AgriLife Research to develop cost-effective technology to remove heavy metals from water and wastewater

Siemens Water Technologies and Texas A&M AgriLife Research have signed an exclusive license agreement and a research and development agreement to continue to develop and commercialize a chemical-based technology to more efficiently and cost-effectively remove heavy metals from water and wastewater at power utility, mining, refinery and remediation sites.

“The Texas A&M University System is a leader in water technology in our agriculture and engineering programs. We are excited to partner with Siemens, a worldwide leader in technology, to commercialize and advance this technology, which could have significant benefits to water and wastewater treatment,” said John Sharp, A&M System chancellor.

In a single process unaffected by temperature or pH-levels, the technology can remove selenium, mercury, zinc, copper, chromium and other heavy metals as well as metalloids to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System limits.

The commercialized system is being designed to occupy a smaller footprint than current remediation treatment systems to reduce capital expense and to operate more efficiently in a wider range of environments.

The technology is based on an Activated Iron Process for the removal of contaminants from water and wastewater developed by Dr. Yongheng Huang, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering at Texas A&M University, who recently received the 2013 Rudolfs Industrial Waste Management Medal by the Water Environmental Federation at its Technical Exhibition and Conference. Huang is also an AgriLife Research scientist.

“AgriLife Research looks forward to further developing and commercializing its novel chemical process and reactor with a world leader such as Siemens Water Technologies,” said Dr. Craig Nessler, AgriLife Research director. “We are confident that our partnership with Siemens will yield environmental and economic benefits across multiple industries.”

“Industrial operators are seeking new solutions to meet heavy metal remediation challenges and regulatory requirements,” said Dr. Lukas Loeffler, Siemens Water Technologies CEO. “The agreements between AgriLife Research and Siemens Water Technologies will help develop a solution to meet this need and is another example to our commitment to innovation and industry leadership through research and development.”

Siemens Water Technologies’ R&D is focused on ultrapure water and drinking water, waste reduction, energy and process efficiency, desalination and water reuse. The company holds more than 1,800 granted patents and patent applications.